Method of wrapping a floral grouping

ABSTRACT

A method for wrapping a wrapper about a floral grouping wherein the wrapper is a sleeve or sheet of material having a cinching tab or strip of bonding material or both and a detaching means such as perforations for detaching a portion of the sleeve or sheet of material. The floral grouping is placed on the sheet of material which is wrapped thereabout, or the floral grouping is disposed in the interior space of the sleeve. The cinching tab is attached near one end of the sheet or sleeve. The cinching tab has a bonding material disposed thereon which, when the cinching tab is pulled tightly about the wrapper, causes the wrapper to be crimped and tightly bound about the stems of the floral grouping. When a sheet or sleeve having a strip of bonding material is used, the portion of the wrapper having the strip of bonding material is crimped manually or automatically about a portion of the stems of the floral grouping causing portions of the wrapper to overlap and bond to each other causing the wrapper to be held firmly about the stems of the floral grouping. The wrapper may further comprise an additional strip of bonding material for bonding an informational card or label to the wrapper. After the wrapper is wrapped about the floral grouping, a portion of the wrapper may be removed by using the detaching means, thereby leaving a portion of the wrapper wrapped or bound about the floral grouping.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/452,905, filedMay 30, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,233, entitled METHOD OF WRAPPING AFLORAL GROUPING, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/218,952,filed Mar. 25, 1994, entitled FLORAL GROUPING WRAPPER HAVING ADETACHABLE PORTION, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,048; which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/095,331, filed Jul. 21, 1993,entitled "METHOD FOR CRIMPING A WRAPPER ABOUT A FLORAL GROUPING", nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,428,939; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser.No. 07/963,882, filed Oct. 20, 1992, entitled WRAPPING MATERIAL HAVING APULL TAB AND PULL INDICIA FOR WRAPPING A FLORAL ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,803.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet of material with one end turned up andconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second sheet of material with one end turnedup and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the first and the second sheets ofmaterial disposed adjacent each other.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing bonding areas on the surface of afirst sheet or a second sheet which cause bonding of the second sheetand the first sheet.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a modified first and second sheets ofmaterial.

FIG. 6 is another cross-sectional view of a modified first sheet ofmaterial connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of still another modified first sheetof material connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 8 is another cross-sectional view of yet another modified firstsheet of material connected to a modified second sheet of material.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of sheets of material,constructed in accordance with the present invention forming acontinuous roll, the roll partially unrolled to reveal a single sheetstill attached thereto.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of sheets of materialforming a continuous roll of material disposed in a dispenser.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing a roll of material wherein theroll of material comprises a first and a second sheet of materialconstructed in accordance with the present invention disposed in adispenser (diagrammatically shown in FIG. 11) for dispensing the firstand the second sheets of material from the roll of material.

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of a pad of first and second sheetsof material constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a floral arrangement disposed on asheet of material.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the floral arrangement of FIG. 13 beingwrapped in one method of wrapping.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the floral arrangement wrapped in aconical fashion.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the conical floral arrangement with thecinching tab wrapped tightly about the wrapper.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another method of using a sheet ofmaterial to wrap a floral arrangement in a cylindrical fashion.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a cylindrically wrapped floral groupinghaving the cinching tab wrapped tightly about the wrapper.

FIG. 19A is a plan view of a sheet of material constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a first strip and a second strip ofbonding material applied to a portion of the upper surface thereof.

FIG. 19B is a side elevational view of the sheet of material of FIG.19A.

FIG. 20A is a plan view of a sheet of material having a first strip ofbonding material on the upper surface and a second strip of bondingmaterial applied to the lower surface thereof.

FIG. 20B is a side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 20A.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 19A andhaving a floral grouping disposed thereon.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and the floralgrouping of FIG. 21 showing the method used to wrap the sheet ofmaterial about the floral grouping.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 22wrapped completely about the floral grouping in a conical fashion.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.23 which indicates how the second bonding portion of the wrapper hasbeen crimped about the stems of the flowers to form a bound area of thewrapper.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 21wrapped about a floral grouping in a cylindric manner.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the cylindric wrapper of FIG. 25showing the second bonding material crimped about the stems of thefloral grouping.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 20A andhaving a floral grouping disposed on the upper surface thereof.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and the floralgrouping of FIG. 27 showing the method used to wrap the sheet ofmaterial about the floral grouping.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 28wrapped completely about the floral grouping in a conical fashion.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.29 which indicates how the second bonding portion of the wrapper hasbeen crimped about the stems of the flowers to form a bound area of thewrapper.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 27wrapped about a floral grouping in a cylindric manner.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of the cylindric wrapper of FIG. 31showing the second bonding material crimped about the stems of thefloral grouping.

FIG. 33 is a plan view of a wrapper comprising a first sheet and asecond sheet and having a double-sided bonding material and releasestrip upon one surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 34 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 33 indicatingthe seal between the first and second sheet.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 33 after a floralgrouping has been disposed within the wrapper interior and further showsthe release strip partially detached from the bonding material on thewrapper.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.33 showing one way in which the wrapper can be folded about the stems ofthe floral grouping.

FIG. 37 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.36 once the wrapper has been folded about the stems and cinched usingthe closure bonding material.

FIG. 38 is a plan view of a wrapper similar to the wrapper of FIG. 33except having a cinching tab attached thereto rather than a bondingstrip.

FIG. 39 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 38.

FIG. 40 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 38 having thefloral grouping disposed within the interior thereof.

FIG. 41 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.40 and further showing the cinching tab cinching a portion of thewrapper tightly about the stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 42 is a plan view showing a wrapper exactly the same as thewrappers of FIGS. 33 and 38 except having a closure bonding materialdisposed within the inner surfaces of the wrapper.

FIG. 43 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 42 showing thedisposition of the closure bonding material upon the inner surfaces ofthe wrapper.

FIG. 44 is a plan view showing the wrapper of FIG. 42 having a floralgrouping disposed within the interior thereof.

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.44 and showing the wrapper crimped tightly about the stems of the floralgrouping and held thereto by the closure bonding material disposedwithin the wrapper.

FIG. 46 is a plan view of a wrapper similar to the wrappers shown inFIGS. 38 and 42 and having both a cinching tab and a closure bondingmaterial disposed upon the inner surfaces of the wrapper.

FIG. 47 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 46.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 46 and having afloral grouping disposed within the interior thereof.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the wrapper and the floral grouping ofFIG. 48 after the closure bonding material has been crimped about thestems of the floral grouping and after the cinching tab has been cinchedtightly about the stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 50 is a perspective view of a wrapper similar to the wrapper ofFIG. 42 except that the closure bonding material is disposed upon theouter surfaces of the wrapper.

FIG. 51 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 50.

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 50 showing a floralgrouping disposed within the interior thereof.

FIG. 53 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.52 showing the external closure bonding material crimped tightly andcausing the wrapper to be engaged tightly about the stems of the floralgrouping.

FIG. 54 is a perspective view of a wrapper comprising elements of thewrapper of FIG. 38 and the wrapper of FIG. 50 wherein the wrapper hasboth a cinching tab and closure bonding material disposed on a portionof the outer surface of the wrapper.

FIG. 55 is a side elevational view of the wrapper of FIG. 54.

FIG. 56 is a perspective view of the wrapper of FIG. 54 having a floralgrouping disposed within the interior thereof.

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of the wrapper and floral grouping of FIG.56 and showing the wrapper crimped about the stems of the floralgrouping by the closure bonding material further showing the cinchingtab cinched tightly about the stems of the floral grouping.

FIG. 58 is a plan view of a wrapper constructed in accordance with thepresent invention having a cinching tab attached thereto further havinga lower end flap and an upper end flap.

FIG. 59 is a perspective view of a sheet of material having a bondingmaterial on a surface thereof for holding a card or label having floralindicia thereon.

FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the floral grouping and sheet of FIG.59 being wrapped in one method of wrapping.

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of the floral grouping and sheet of FIG.59 wrapped in a conical fashion.

FIG. 62 is a perspective view of another method of using the sheet ofmaterial of FIG. 59 to wrap a floral grouping in a cylindrical fashionand showing a card having floral indicia affixed to the wrapper.

FIG. 63 shows a floral grouping and a sheet of material having a closuretab and a strip of material for holding a card or label bearing floralindicia.

FIG. 64 shows the sheet of material of FIG. 63 being wrapped about thefloral grouping.

FIG. 65 shows the floral grouping and sheet of material of FIG. 63wrapped in a conical fashion.

FIG. 66 shows the sheet of material of FIG. 63 wrapped about the floralgrouping in a cylindrical fashion.

FIG. 67 is a plan view of a wrapper comprising a first surface and asecond surface and having a bonding material disposed upon a portion ofthe interior portion of the surfaces thereof.

FIG. 68 is a side view of the wrapper of FIG. 67.

FIG. 69 is a plan view of a wrapper having a first surface and a secondsurface and having a bonding material disposed upon a portion of theinterior portions of the surfaces thereof and further having a closuretab.

FIG. 70 is a side view of the wrapper of FIG. 69.

FIG. 71 is a side view of a sheet of material having a strip of bondingmaterial on the upper surface and another strip of bonding material onthe lower surface, the two strips generally opposite each other.

FIG. 72 is a side view of a sheet of material having a strip of bondingmaterial on the upper surface and a strip of bonding material on thelower surface and wherein the two strips of material are oriented in agenerally offset orientation to each other.

FIG. 73 is a side view of a sheet of material having a single strip ofclosure bonding material on one surface and two separate strips ofclosure bonding material on the lower surface thereof.

FIG. 74 is a side view of a sheet of material having two separate stripsof bonding material on the upper surface and a single strip of bondingmaterial separate therefrom on the lower surface of the sheet.

FIG. 75 is a perspective view of a wrapped floral grouping with an upperportion of the wrapper detached to expose the floral grouping.

FIG. 76 is a perspective view of a wrapped floral grouping with anentire upper portion of the wrapper detached to expose the floralgrouping.

FIG. 77 is a perspective view of another wrapped floral grouping with anupper portion of the wrapper detached.

FIG. 78 is a perspective view of another wrapped floral grouping with anentire upper portion of the wrapper detached.

FIG. 79 is a perspective view of yet another wrapped floral groupingwith an upper portion of the wrapper detached.

FIG. 80 is a perspective view of yet another wrapped floral groupingwith an entire upper portion of the wrapper detached.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to the wrapping of a floralgrouping with a wrapper and crimping at least a portion of the wrapperabout the stem portion of the floral grouping whereby the crimped areaof the wrapper is bound together with a bonding material and wherein aportion of the wrapper is detachable from the portion of the wrapperleft wrapped about the floral grouping.

Packers of floral groupings such as bouquets often complain that floralgrouping wrappers such as commercially-available "sleeves" are not thecorrect size at the lower end of the sleeve. Therefore, the packer mustuse some type of band or tie at the lower end of the sleeve to take upthe extra sleeve material and to tightly wrap the sleeve about the stemsof the floral grouping to inhibit the bouquet from spreading apart orslipping from the wrapper.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to increase the easeand quickness with which a wrapper can be applied about a floralgrouping and held firmly about the stems of the floral grouping withoutrelying on the additional step of applying a separate band or tie aboutthe wrapper, and further to optionally affix an informational label tothe wrapper and to further allow the portion of the wrapper disposedabout the floral grouping, or a portion of the floral grouping, to beremoved while allowing the remainder to be wrapped about the floralgrouping.

As noted above, the present invention is a method for wrapping a floralgrouping. One version of the invention comprises providing a floralgrouping, and a wrapper. The wrapper may be a floral sleeve of the typewhich is well known in the floral wrapping art or it may be a sheet ofmaterial. The wrapper has a crimp connector for firmly holdingoverlapping portions of the wrapper in a crimped position adjacent thestem portion of the floral grouping. The wrapper further comprisesperforations or other detaching means for allowing a portion of thewrapper to be detached. The crimp connector may further comprise abonding material, or a cinching tab, or both. The floral grouping isplaced into the interior space of the wrapper and the wrapper is boundabout the floral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper togetherwith the crimp connector thereby forming a crimped portion of thewrapper and firmly binding the wrapper in a position about the floralgrouping. The wrapper may further comprise a closure flap extending fromthe wrapper for enclosing either the upper end or the lower end oralternatively, both the upper end and lower end of the wrapper. Thewrapper may further comprise a label bonding material for affixing alabel to a portion of the wrapper. When the wrapper is a sheet ofmaterial, the sheet of material may have a sheet connector forconnecting overlapping portions of the sheet of material in a conical orcylindrical form about the floral grouping. The method further comprisesdetaching the removable portion of the wrapper for exposing the floralgrouping, or a portion thereof.

In one version of the present invention, the method comprises providinga floral grouping and a wrapper having an upper end and a lower end. Thewrapper has an inner surface which surrounds an interior space, and anouter surface. The inner surface has a first side and a second side withthe first side opposite the second side. The outer surface has a firstouter side and a second outer side with the first outer side oppositethe second outer side, and the first outer side and the second outerside separated by the interior space. The wrapper further comprises acrimp connecting means comprising a bonding material disposed upon aportion of either or both the inner surface and outer surface, forholding overlapping portions of the wrapper in a crimped positionadjacent the stem portion of the floral grouping. The wrapper furthercomprises detaching means for detaching a portion of the wrapper afterthe wrapper has been bound about the floral grouping.

The method further comprises the step of placing the floral groupinginto the interior space of the wrapper and binding the wrapper about thefloral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper together causing atleast one portion of the wrapper to overlap at least one other portionof the wrapper, the crimp connecting means engaging the overlappingportions of the wrapper together in a position surrounding and adjacentthe stem portion of the floral grouping forming a crimped portion of thewrapper thereby firmly binding the wrapper in a position about thefloral grouping.

In another version of the present invention, the first step of themethod is providing a floral grouping having an upper end and a stemportion, and providing a wrapper. The wrapper may be further defined ashaving a first surface and a second surface such as is typical of thetype of wrapper known in the art as a sleeve. The first surface has aninner surface, an outer surface, an upper end, a lower end, a left-handside and a right-hand side. The second surface has an inner surface, anouter surface, an upper end, a lower end, a left-hand side and aright-hand side. Either the first surface or the second surface, or boththe first and second surface have a detaching means for allowing aportion of the first surface, second surface, or both first and secondsurfaces to be detached from the wrapper.

The first surface and the second surface are disposed flatwise upon eachother with the inner surface of the first surface facing the innersurface of the second surface. Furthermore, the left-hand side of thefirst surface and the left-hand side of the second surface are sealedtogether and the right-hand side of the first surface and the right-handside of the second surface are sealed together forming an interior spacebetween the first surface and the second surface and into which a floralgrouping is disposable.

The wrapper further comprises a crimp connector for holding overlappingportions of the wrapper in a crimped position adjacent the stem portionof the floral grouping. The crimp connector further comprises a bondingmaterial.

In the next step, the floral grouping is placed into the interior spaceof the wrapper. The wrapper is then bound about the floral grouping bycrimping portions of the wrapper together causing at least one portionof the wrapper to overlap at least one other portion of the wrapper suchthat the crimp connector engages the overlapping portions of the wrappertogether in a position surrounding and adjacent the stem portion of thefloral grouping forming a crimped portion of the wrapper thereby firmlybinding the wrapper in a position about the floral grouping. A portionof the wrapper surrounding the floral grouping may then be detached fromthe wrapper exposing the floral grouping.

The method may further comprise providing a pad of wrappers, the padhaving a top wrapper and wherein a strip of bonding material on eachwrapper is bondingly connected to a portion of an adjacent wrapper forcooperating to connect the wrappers into the pad. The strip of bondingmaterial on each wrapper releasably connects each wrapper to one otherwrapper whereby one of the wrappers can be releasably disconnected fromanother wrapper by pulling the wrappers apart. Each wrapper may furthercomprise a detaching means.

The wrapper used in the method is constructed from a material selectedfrom the group of materials consisting of paper (treated or untreated),cellophane, foil, polymer film, fabric (natural or synthetic, woven orunwoven), or burlap or combinations thereof. Each first or secondsurface of the wrapper may have a thickness in a range from less thanabout 1 mil to about 30 mils.

The bonding material of the crimp connector may be selected from thegroup consisting of a pressure sensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heatsensitive adhesive or cohesive, a sonically sealable adhesive orcohesive, a vibratingly sealing adhesive or cohesive, or a chemicallysealing adhesive or cohesive.

The crimp connector may further comprise a cinching tab attached to thewrapper and having the bonding material disposed upon a portion of thecinching tab. Also, the crimp connector may comprise a bonding materialdisposed upon a portion of at least one surface of the wrapper. Morespecifically, the crimp connector may further comprise the bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the outer surface of at least one ofthe first or second surfaces of the wrapper.

More preferably, the crimp connector may further comprise the bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the inner surface of at least one ofthe first or second surfaces of the wrapper. Or, the crimp connector maybe a bonding material disposed upon portions of both the inner surfacesand the outer surfaces of the first and second surfaces of the wrapper.The wrapper further comprises detaching means for allowing detachment ofa portion of the wrapper.

In another version of the present invention, the wrapper furthercomprises a closure flap extending from the wrapper for enclosing eitherthe upper end or the lower end or alternatively, both the upper end andlower end of the wrapper.

In another version of the invention, the crimp connector may compriseboth a cinching tab for wrapping about the crimped portion of thewrapper, and a bonding material disposed elsewhere on a surface of thewrapper.

In another version, the wrapper further comprises a label bondingmaterial disposed upon a surface of the wrapper for affixing a label toa portion of the wrapper. This label bonding material may be disposed ona wrapper having a crimp connector as disclosed herein, or on a wrappernot having a crimp connector.

In an alternative version of the invention, the method for wrapping afloral grouping may include the steps of providing a floral groupinghaving an upper end and a stem portion, and providing a sheet ofmaterial. The sheet of material would comprise an upper surface, a lowersurface, a sheet connector and a crimp connector.

The sheet connector in this embodiment is disposed on at least a firstportion of the upper surface of the sheet of material for connectingportions of the upper surface to portions of the lower surface of thesheet of material during the wrapping step. The crimp connectorcomprises a bonding material and serves to hold overlapping portions ofthe sheet of material in a crimped position adjacent the stem portion ofthe floral grouping.

The next step is to place the floral grouping on the upper surface ofthe sheet of material and commence wrapping the sheet of material aboutthe floral grouping. The wrapping causes portions of the lower surfaceof the sheet of material to overlap other portions of the sheet ofmaterial and causes bonding of the overlapping portions of the sheet ofmaterial by contacting the sheet connector on the upper surface withadjacent overlapping portions of the sheet of material whereby theoverlapped portion of the sheet of material is bonded to otheroverlapping portions of the sheet of material with the sheet of materialsubstantially encompassing and surrounding a substantial portion of thestem portion of the floral grouping forming a wrapper about the floralgrouping. Once wrapped, the wrapper generally has an opening extendingthrough the lower end thereof and an opening extending through the upperend thereof with a part of the stem portion of the floral groupingextending through the opening in the lower end and the upper end of thefloral grouping being exposed near the opening in the upper end thereof.

The final step is binding the sheet of material (i.e., the wrapper)about the floral grouping by crimping portions of the wrapper togethercausing at least one portion of the wrapper to overlap at least oneother portion of the wrapper. As the crimp connector engages theoverlapping portions of the wrapper together in a position surroundingand adjacent the stem portion of the floral grouping, a crimped portionof the wrapper is formed thereby firmly binding the wrapper in aposition about the floral grouping. A portion of the wrapper may then bedetached from the crimped wrapper.

Another version of the invention comprises a method for wrapping afloral grouping and affixing a label thereto. The method comprisesproviding a floral grouping, and a wrapper such as described above. Thewrapper has a crimp connector and detaching means such as describedabove, and a label bonding material which comprises a bonding materialdisposed upon a portion of a surface of the wrapper for affixing a labelto a portion of the wrapper. A label is provided for affixing to thelabel bonding material. The steps for binding the floral grouping withthe wrapper are followed as described earlier, then the label is affixedto the wrapper.

In a similar fashion, the present invention may comprise wrapping afloral grouping with a sheet of material and affixing a label thereto.The sheet of material has a sheet connector as is described above and acrimp connector and detaching means also described above.

The sheet of material further comprises a label bonding material whichfurther comprises a bonding material disposed upon a portion of asurface of the sheet of material for affixing a label to a portion ofthe sheet of material. A label is provided for affixing to the labelbonding material. The floral grouping is placed on the upper surface ofthe sheet of material. The sheet of material is wrapped about the floralgrouping as described above. And the wrapper is bound about the floralgrouping by crimping portions of the wrapper together. Finally, thelabel is affixed to the sheet of material.

In an alternative embodiment, the invention comprises a method forwrapping a floral grouping and affixing a label thereto, wherein thewrapper is a sheet of material having a sheet connector and detachingmeans as described above and a label bonding material comprising abonding material disposed upon a portion of a surface of the sheet ofmaterial for affixing a label to a portion of the sheet of material. Alabel is provided for affixing to the label bonding material, and thefloral grouping is placed on the upper surface of the sheet of material.The sheet of material is wrapped about the floral grouping as describedabove.

Finally, the label is affixed to the label bonding material of the sheetof material which comprises the wrapper. The label bonding material maybe disposed upon the upper surface of the sheet of material or upon thelower surface of the sheet of material. Furthermore, the sheet ofmaterial may further comprise a closure flap extending from the sheet ofmaterial for enclosing the upper end, the lower end or both the upperend and lower end of the wrapper, once the floral grouping has beenwrapped with the sheet. Further, a portion of the wrapper may later beremoved from the wrapper via a use of the detaching means.

The sheet of material may be provided from a pad of sheets of material,the pad having a top sheet of material and wherein the sheet connectorof each sheet of material is bondingly connected to a portion of anadjacent sheet of material for cooperating to connect the sheets ofmaterial into the pad and wherein each sheet further comprises adetaching means as defined herein. In this instance, the sheet connectoron each sheet of material releasably connects each sheet of material toone other sheet of material whereby one of the sheets of material can bereleasably disconnected from another sheet of material by pulling thesheets of material apart.

The method may further comprise the step of wrapping the top sheet ofmaterial about the floral grouping by placing a portion of the top sheetof material over at least a portion of the floral grouping and rollingthe top sheet of material and the floral grouping and wrapping the topsheet of material about the floral grouping, the sheet connector on thetop sheet of material being bondingly connected to another portion ofthe top sheet of material for securing the top sheet of material in awrapped position about the floral grouping and the top sheet of materialbeing removed is from the pad of sheets of material as the top sheet ofmaterial is wrapped about the floral grouping.

The sheet of material may further be seen as comprising a first side, asecond side, a first end and a second end and the sheet connector is onthe upper surface of each sheet of material near one side of the sheetof material and extending a distance therefrom to the other side, andwherein the step of wrapping the top sheet of material about the floralgrouping further comprises:

placing a portion of the top sheet of material near the first sidethereof over a portion of the floral grouping and rolling the top sheetof material and the floral grouping until the top sheet of material isrolled about the floral grouping, the sheet connector on the top sheetof material bindingly connected to a portion of the top sheet ofmaterial as the top sheet of material and the floral grouping is rolledover the sheet connector. The top sheet of material may be disconnectedfrom the pad as the top sheet of material and floral grouping are rolledover the pad whereby the top sheet of material is lifted from the padand the bonding connection between the top sheet of material and a nextsheet of material is disconnected.

The method may further comprise wrapping the top sheet of material aboutthe floral grouping and disconnecting the top sheet of material from thepad leaving the next sheet of material forming a new top sheet ofmaterial, and wherein the steps of placing the floral grouping on thetop sheet of material, and wrapping the top sheet of material about thefloral grouping are repeated with other floral groupings untilsubstantially all of the sheets of material in the pad have been wrappedabout the floral groupings.

As noted above the sheet of material is constructed from a materialselected from the group of materials consisting of paper (treated oruntreated), cellophane, foil, polymer film, fabric (natural orsynthetic, woven or unwoven), or burlap or combinations or laminationsthereof. Each sheet of material may have a thickness in a range fromless than about 1 mil to about 30 mils.

As above, the bonding material of the sheet connector or of the crimpconnector may further comprise a bonding material selected from thegroup consisting of a pressure sensitive adhesive or cohesive, a heatsensitive adhesive or cohesive, a cold seal lacquer, adhesive ofcohesive, a sonically sealable adhesive or cohesive, a vibratinglysealing adhesive or cohesive, or a chemically sealing adhesive orcohesive.

As used herein, the term "detaching means" means any means or deviceattached to or integral to the wrapper which enables or facilitatesremoval or detachment of a portion of the wrapper from the remainder ofthe wrapper. The detaching means may include, but is not limited to,perforations, tear strips, zippers, creases and grooves.

Also as above, the crimp connector may further comprise a cinching tabattached to the sheet of material and having a bonding material disposedupon a portion thereof. The crimp connector may also comprise a bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the upper or lower surface of thesheet of material. The sheet of material may further comprise closureflaps extending from the sheet of material for enclosing the upper end,the lower end or both the upper end and lower end of the wrapper.

The purpose of the crimp connector which comprises a strip of bondingmaterial is to connect and hold overlapping portions of the sheet ofmaterial in a position about the floral grouping. Similarly, the purposeof the crimp connector which comprises a cinching tab attached to thesheet of material and having a bonding material disposed on a portionthereof is to hold overlapping portions of the sheet of material in aposition about the floral grouping.

It is noted that the crimp connector may comprise either a strip ofbonding material disposed upon a portion of a surface of the sheet ofmaterial, or it may comprise a cinching tab attached to the sheet ofmaterial and having a bonding material disposed on a portion thereof, orthe crimp connector may comprise both a cinching tab and a bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the sheet of material.

In another version of the invention, the sheet of material may have alabel bonding material disposed upon a surface of the sheet of materialfor affixing a label to a portion of the sheet of material.

The sleeves or sheets of material as described herein may furthercomprise a reservoir, such as a pouch attached to a surface of thesleeve or sheet, for containing materials such as water, preservatives,nutrients, gels, foams or decorative materials.

The sleeves or sheets of material described herein may further comprisehandles or holes to allow the wrapped floral grouping to be carried moreeasily. These handles and portions of the sleeves with holes may bedetachable from the remainder of the wrapper. Examples of sleeves andsheets with handles can be found in co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 07/922,971,entitled "A WRAPPER WITH HANDLE FOR WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING" and U.S.Ser. No. 08/092,678, entitled "FLORAL GROUPING WRAPPER WITH HANDLEINCORPORATED THEREIN", both of which are incorporated herein byreference.

The Embodiments of FIGS. 1-3

Shown in FIG. 1 and designated therein by the general reference numeral10 is a sheet of material. The sheet of material 10 has a first end 12,a second end 13, a first side 14, a second side 15, an upper surface 16and a lower surface 17.

The sheet of material 10 further comprises a sheet connector, a crimpconnector and a detaching means. The sheet connector comprises a closurebonding material which is described in more detail below. The crimpconnector, comprises at least a bonding material for connectingoverlapping portions of the wrapper in a position about the stems of afloral grouping for binding the wrapper firmly to the floral grouping.The detaching means, as noted above, comprises a means or device, suchas perforations, for allowing a portion of the sheet 10 to be detachedonce it has been wrapped about a floral grouping. In the version of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 1, the crimp connector comprises acinching tab 18 having a first end 19, a second end 20 and a bondingmaterial 21 disposed on a portion of the cinching tab 18. The cinchingtab 18 is attached at the second end 20 to a portion of the sheet ofmaterial 10. In FIG. 1 the tab 18 is shown attached to a portion of thesheet 10 near the first side 14 of the sheet 10. But it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the tab 18 can beattached to any portion of the sheet 10 which enables the tab 18 tofunction in accordance with the invention as presently contemplated andas described in further detail below.

A closure bonding material 24 forms the sheet connector and may bedisposed on the upper surface 16 of the sheet of material.Alternatively, the sheet of material 10 may be free of such a closurebonding material. As shown in FIG. 1, the closure bonding material 24,if present, is disposed in a preferred embodiment adjacent the firstside 14 of the sheet of material 10 and extends between the first andthe second ends 12 and 13 of the sheet of material 10. As shown in FIG.1, the closure bonding material 24 is disposed on the upper surface 16in a strip of closure bonding material 24, although the closure bondingmaterial 24 also could be applied to the upper surface 16 of the sheetof material 10 in the form of spaced apart spots or the closure bondingmaterial 24 also could be disposed on the upper surface 16 of the sheetof material 10 in any other geometric form and in any pattern includingcovering the entire upper surface 16 of the sheet of material 10. Inthis last-mentioned instance, the closure bonding material and theconnecting bonding material would be contained within the bondingmaterial covering the sheet of material 10. The term "spot" or "spots"includes any geometric shape of spot including, but not limited to, whatis commonly referred to as strips.

In this version of the invention, the detaching means is represented byperforations 25 which are disposed in a predetermined pattern on thesheet 10 for allowing separation of a portion of the sheet 10. Thepattern of perforations 25 shown in FIG. 1 is but one of manyconceivable patterns.

The sheet of material 10 has a thickness in a range from about 0.1 milsto about 30 mils. Preferably, the sheet of material 10 has a thicknessin a range from about 0.1 mils to about 5 mils.

The sheet of material 10 may be any shape and a square or rectangularshape is shown in FIG. 1 only by way of example. The sheet of material10 for example only may be square, rectangular, circular or any othergeometric shape such as heart shaped, for example only.

The sheet of material 10 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterial or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. Any thickness of the sheet of material 10 may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention as long as the sheet of material10 is wrappable about an object, such as a floral grouping or plant, asdescribed herein. The layers of material comprising the sheet ofmaterial 10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separatelayers, and the layers of material comprising the sheet of material 10need not be uniform in shape or composition.

Shown in FIG. 2 is a second sheet of material 26. The second sheet ofmaterial 26 has a first end 28, a second end 30, a first side 32, asecond side 34, an upper surface 36 and a lower surface 38 and detachingmeans such as represented here by perforations 27, similar in nature tothe perforations 25 in sheet 10. The second sheet of material ispreferably constructed of paper. The term "paper" as used herein meanstreated or untreated paper, corrugated paper or cardboard or any otherform of paper material.

The first sheet of material 10 has a length 40 extending between thefirst and the second sides 14 and 15 of the sheet of material 10. Thefirst sheet of material 10 also has a width 41 extending between thefirst and the second ends 12 and 13 of the first sheet of material 10.The crimp connector, or cinching tab, 18 of the sheet of material 10 hasa length 42 and a width 43.

The second sheet of material 26 has a length 44 extending between thefirst and the second sides 32 and 34 of the second sheet of material 26.The second sheet of material 26 has a width 46 extending between thefirst and the second ends 28 and 30 of the second sheet of material 26.In a preferred embodiment, the length 44 of the second sheet of material26 is less than the length 40 of the first sheet of material 10 as shownin FIG. 3 so that, when the first sheet of material 10 is disposedadjacent the second sheet of material 26, a portion of the first sheetof material 10 adjacent the first side 14 thereof extends a distancebeyond the first side 32 of the second sheet of material 26, in a mannerand for reason which will be described in greater detail below.

The first sheet of material has a thickness in a range from about 0.5mils to about 30 mils and preferably the thickness of the first sheet ofmaterial is in a range from about 0.5 mils to about 10 mils. The firstsheet of material 10 is constructed of a material which is flexible.

The second sheet of material 26 has a thickness in a range from about0.1 mils to about 30 mils and preferably in a range from about 0.1 milsto about 10 mils. The second sheet of material 26 is flexible, butrelatively rigid compared to the first sheet of material 10.

The second sheet of material 26 may be any shape and a square orrectangular shape is shown in FIG. 2 only by way of example. The secondsheet of material for example only may be square, rectangular, circularor any other geometric shape.

The second sheet of material 26 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterials or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. Any thickness of the second sheet of material 26 may beutilized in accordance with the present invention as long as the secondsheet of material 26 is wrappable about an object such as a floralgrouping or plant, as described herein, and as long as the second sheetof material 26 provides the rigidity described herein or the absorbencydescribed herein or both. The layers of material comprising the secondsheet of material 26 may be connected together or laminated or may beseparate layers.

In operation, when a second sheet of material 26 is desired in additionto the first sheet of material 10, the second sheet of material 26 isplaced adjacent the first sheet of material 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Inthis position, the lower surface 38 of the second sheet of material 26is disposed adjacent the upper surface 16 of the first sheet of material10. The width 41 of the first sheet of material 10 is about equal to thewidth 46 of the second sheet of material 26 so that, when the first andthe second sheets of material 10 and 26 are disposed adjacent eachother, the first end 28 of the second sheet of material is generallyaligned with the first end 12 of the first sheet of material 10, thesecond end 30 of the second sheet of material 26 is generally alignedwith the second end 13 of the first sheet of material 10, the secondside 15 of the first sheet of material 10 is generally aligned with thesecond side 34 of the second sheet of material and the first side 14 ofthe first sheet of material 10 extends a distance beyond the first side32 of the second sheet of material 26 so that the closure bondingmaterial 24 on the upper surface 16 of the first sheet of material 10 isexposed and not covered by the second sheet of material 26.

It should be noted that the first and the second sheets of material 10and 26 each could have virtually identical lengths 40 and 44. In thiscase, the second sheet of material 26 is disposed on the first sheet ofmaterial 10 in such a manner that the second side 34 of the second sheetof material 26 extends a distance beyond the second side 15 of the firstsheet of material 10 whereby the first side 14 of the first sheet ofmaterial 10 is spaced a distance from the first side 32 of the secondsheet of material 26 thereby leaving the closure bonding material 24 onthe first sheet of material 10 exposed and not covered by the secondsheet of material 26. And multiple sheets of material 10 and 26 may beused. Moreover, when multiple sheets of material 10 and 26 are used incombination, the sheets of material 10 and 26 need not be uniform insize or shape. Finally, it will be appreciated that the sheets ofmaterial 10 and 26 shown in all embodiments herein are substantiallyflat.

In an alternative embodiment, the detaching means may be disposed onlyon sheet 10, such that when it is desired to detach a portion of sheet10 via the perforations 25, the sheet 26 is left intact and therebyexposed.

As noted earlier, a sheet connector or closure bonding material may bedisposed on the upper surface of the first sheet of material 10. Theclosure bonding material 24 may be applied as a strip or as spots orother shapes. One method for disposing a closure bonding material, inthis case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled"Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping" issued to Weder et al., on May12, 1992 and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

The first sheet of material 10 can be utilized alone or in combinationwith the second sheet of material 26 to wrap a floral grouping. "Floralgrouping" as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificial flowers, asingle flower other fresh and/or artificial plants or other floralmaterials and may include other secondary plants and/or ornamentation orartificial or natural materials which add to the aesthetics of theoverall floral arrangement. The floral grouping comprises a bloom orfoliage portion and a stem portion. However, it will be appreciated thatthe floral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage(not shown). The term "floral grouping" may be used interchangeablyherein with the term "floral arrangement".

The first sheet of material 10 or the second sheet of material 26 may beconstructed of a single layer of material or a plurality of layers ofthe same or different types of materials. Any thickness of the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 26 may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sheet of material 10 or 26 may be wrapped orformed about at least a portion of a portion of a flower pot or a floralgrouping, as described herein. Additionally, an insulating material suchas bubble film, preferable as one of two or more layers, can be utilizedin order to provide additional protection for the item wrapped therein.

In a preferred embodiment, the first sheet of material 10 is constructedfrom two polypropylene films (a 20"×15" sheet of Mobil 270 ABW whiteopaque film laminated to a 20"×15" sheet of Mobil 220 AB clear film)having a thickness in a range of from less than about 1.0 mil to about2.5 mils. The layers of material comprising the first sheet of material10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers.

The sheet of material 10 is constructed from any suitable wrappingmaterial that is capable of being wrapped about a floral grouping.Preferably, the wrapping material 10 comprises paper (untreated ortreated in any manner), cellophane, foil, polymer film, fabric (woven ornonwoven or synthetic or natural), burlap, or combinations thereof.

The term "polymer film" means a man-made polymer such as a polypropyleneor a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. A polymer film isrelatively strong and not as subject to tearing (substantiallynon-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.

The sheet of material 10 or 26 may vary in color. Further, the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 26 may consist of designs or decorative patterns whichare printed, etched, and/or embossed thereon using inks or otherprinting materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to thesurface of the sheet of material 10 or 26 is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,147,706 entitled "Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic OrganicPolymer" issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. In addition, the sheet of material 10or 26 may have various colorings, coatings, flocking and/or metallicfinishes, or other decorative surface ornamentation applied separatelyor simultaneously or may be characterized totally or partially bypearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent or the like,qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occur alone or incombination and may be applied to the upper and/or lower surface of thesheet of material 10 or 26. Moreover, each surface of the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 26 may vary in the combination of such characteristics.The sheet of material 10 or 26 itself may be opaque, translucent orpartially clear or tinted transparent.

Embodiments of FIGS. 4-8

Referring now to FIG. 4, a bonding material may be applied to either theupper surface of a first sheet of material or to the lower surface of asecond sheet of material in a plurality of patches 48 for the purpose ofbonding the upper surface of the first sheet to the lower surface of thesecond sheet. A detaching means such as perforations 25a is disposed inthe first sheet 10a and second sheet 26a.

Shown in FIG. 5 is a modified first sheet of material 10b connected to amodified second sheet of material 26b. The first sheet of material 10bis constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10. The second sheetof material 26b is constructed like the sheet of material 26 describedin detail before and shown in FIG. 2, except the second sheet ofmaterial 26b includes a bonding material 60 disposed on the lowersurface 38b of the second sheet of material 26b. The bonding material 60is in the form of a plurality of spaced apart spots of bonding material60, similar to that shown in FIG. 4. The lower surface 38b of the secondsheet of material 26b is bondingly connected to the upper surface 16b ofthe first sheet of material 10b by way of the bonding material 60. Sincethe bonding material 60 is in the form of a plurality of spaced apartspots, a plurality of spaced apart spaces 62 (only one of the spaces 62being designated by reference numeral in FIG. 5) are formed between thelower surface 38b of the second sheet of material 26b and the uppersurface 16b of the first sheet of material 10b. The spaces 62 provideair gaps which form an insulation when the first and the second sheetsof material 10b and 26b are wrapped about a floral grouping in a mannerand for reasons like that described herein.

Shown in FIG. 6 is a modified first sheet of material 10c connected to amodified second sheet of material 26c. The first sheet of material 10cis constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10c includes a bonding material 64disposed on the upper surface 16c of the first sheet of material 10c.The bonding material 64 is in the form of a plurality of spaced apartspots of bonding material 64, similar to that shown in FIG. 5. The lowersurface 38c of the second sheet of material 26c is bondingly connectedto the upper surface 16c of the first sheet of material 10c by way ofthe bonding material 64. Since the bonding material 64 is in the form ofa plurality of spaced apart spots, a plurality of spaces 66 (only one ofthe spaces 66 being designated by a reference numeral in FIG. 6) areformed between the lower surface 38c of the second sheet of material 26cand the upper surface 16c of the first sheet of material 10c. The spaces66 provide air gaps which form an insulation when the first and thesecond sheets of material 10c and 26c are wrapped about a floralgrouping in a manner and for reasons like that described herein inconnection with FIG. 5.

Shown in FIG. 7 is a modified first sheet of material 10d connected to amodified second sheet of material 26d. The first sheet of material 10dis constructed exactly like the sheet of material shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10d includes a bonding material 68 onthe upper surface 16d thereof. The second sheet of material 26d isconstructed exactly like the second sheet of material 26 shown in FIG.2, except the second sheet of material 26d includes a plurality ofspaced apart raised portions 70. The raised portions 70 may be formed byembossing the second sheet of material 26d or forming corrugations inthe second sheet of material 26d or in any other manner desired in anyparticular application.

The upper surface 16d of the first sheet of material 10d is disposedgenerally adjacent the lower surface 38d of the second sheet of material26d or, more particularly, adjacent the raised portions 70 on the secondsheet of material 26d. In this position, the raised portions 70 arebonded to the upper surface 16d of the first sheet of material 10d byway of the bonding material 68 to connect the first sheet of material10d to the second sheet of material 26d.

The spaced apart raised portions 70 on the second sheet of material 26dform a plurality of spaces 72 between the first sheet of material 10dand the second sheet of material 26d in a connected position of thefirst and the second sheets of material 10d and 26d for providinginsulation when the first and second sheets of material 10d and 26d areconnected together and wrapped about a floral grouping in a manner likethat described herein.

Shown in FIG. 8 is a modified first sheet of material 10e connected to amodified second sheet of material 26e. The first sheet of material 10eis constructed exactly like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1,except the first sheet of material 10e includes a plurality of spacedapart raised portions 74. The raised portions 74 may be formed in thefirst sheet of material 10e by embossing the first sheet of material 10eor forming corrugations in the first sheet of material 10e or in anyother suitable manner. The second sheet of material 26e is constructedexactly like the second sheet of material 26 shown in FIG. 2, except thesecond sheet of material 26e includes a bonding material 76 disposed onthe lower surface 38e thereof.

In operation, the upper surface 16e of the first sheet of material 10eis disposed generally adjacent the lower surface 38e of the second sheetof material 26e or, more particularly, the raised portions 74 on thefirst sheet of material 10e are disposed adjacent the lower surface 38eof the second sheet of material 26e.

In this position, the first sheet of material 10e is bondingly connectedto the second sheet of material 26e by way of the bonding material 76 onthe second sheet of material 26e or, more particularly, the bondingmaterial 76 on the second sheet of material 26e bondingly engages andbondingly connects to the raised portions 74 on the first sheet ofmaterial 10e to connect the first sheet of material 10e to the secondsheet of material 26e. In this connected position of the first sheet ofmaterial 10e and the second sheet of material 26e, the raised portions74 cooperate to form a plurality of spaces 78 between the first sheet ofmaterial 10e and the second sheet of material 26e. The spaces 76cooperate to provide an insulation when the first and the second sheetsof material 10e and 26e are wrapped about a floral grouping or plant ina manner and for reasons like that described herein.

Although not indicated in the FIGS. 5-8, each sheet of materialdescribed therein comprises a detaching means as described herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 9-11

Referring now to FIG. 9, a plurality of individual sheets of material10f are connected linearly together to form a roll 80. Preferably, theplurality of sheets of material 10f in the roll 80 are connected byperforations 82, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Such a roll 80 permits onesheet of material 10f to be withdrawn from the roll 80, then severed ordisconnected from the roll 80. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10, theroll 80 may simply be formed as a continuous roll 80 of wrappingmaterial without perforations, wherein a plurality of sheets of material10f may be removed from the roll 80 by unrolling a portion of the roll80, and using a separate cutting element (not shown) to sever theunrolled portion of the roll 80 of material to form the sheet ofmaterial 10f. The roll 80 may also be contained within a dispenser 84,as illustrated in FIG. 10. When the roll 80 is disposed in the dispenser84, a portion of the wrapping material is again unrolled, and a serratedcutting edge 86 contained within the dispenser 84, or a separate cuttingelement (not shown), severs the unrolled portion of the wrappingmaterial from the roll 80 to form a sheet of material 10f. Any number ofsheets of material 10f may form the roll 80 as long as it is possible towithdraw at least one sheet 10f from the roll 80 as described herein.

Each sheet 10f of roll 80 is equipped with a cinching tab 18f and adetaching means 25f as shown in FIG. 9 wherein the tab 18f is integralwith one end or side of a sheet 10f. Alternatively, the cinching tab 18fmay be affixable to the sheet 10f after the roll 80 has been unrolled toexpose sheet 10f as shown in FIG. 10 and the detaching means may beadded later by adding perforations to the sheet.

As shown in FIG. 11, the first and the second sheets of materialdescribed herein can be provided in the form of a roll of first andsecond sheets of material wherein the first and the second sheets ofmaterial are unrolled from the roll of first and second sheets ofmaterial and the first and the second sheets of material are severedfrom the roll either by perforations at spaced apart locations in theroll or by cutting the first and the second sheets of material from theroll. It also should be noted that additional sheets of material may becombined with the first and the second sheets of material if so desiredin a particular application.

Shown in FIG. 11 is a roll of material 90 comprising a first material 92and a second material 94 with the second material 94 being disposedadjacent the first material 92. The first material 92 is constructed ofany of the materials described before with respect to the first sheet ofmaterial. The second material 94 is constructed of any of the materialsdescribed before with respect to the second sheet of material.

The roll of material 90 may be disposed in a dispenser (not shown)having an opening through which the materials 92 and 94 may be withdrawnfrom the roll of material 90. A cutting edge (not shown) may be disposedon the dispenser near the opening. The cutting edge may be a sawtoothtype of edge or the cutting edge may be any other type of edge or devicesuitable for cutting a portion of the materials 92 and 94 from the rollof material 90 and the cutting edge may be connected to the dispenser ormay be a separate component if desired in a particular application. Thedispenser may further comprise a perforator for inserting perforationsinto the sheet at a predetermined location.

The roll of material 90 has a leading edge 102. In operation, theleading edge 102 is gripped or a portion of the first and/or the secondmaterials are gripped and the first and the second materials areunrolled and withdrawn from the roll of material 90 in a direction 104.The first and the second materials 92 and 94 are withdrawn or unrolledfrom the roll of material 90 until a desired length of the first and thesecond materials 92 and 94 have been withdrawn from the roll of material90. In this position, a portion of the first and the second materials 92and 94 are disposed adjacent the cutting edge. The first and the secondmaterials 92 and 94 then are maneuvered to pass the first and the secondmaterials 92 and 94 over the cutting edge thereby severing a portion ofthe material extending a distance from the leading edge 102 thereof fromthe roll of material 90. The portion of the first and the secondmaterials 92 and 94 withdrawn from the roll of material 90 and severedfrom the roll of material 90 comprise the first and the second sheets ofmaterial as described herein.

The first and the second materials 92 and 94 in the roll of material 90may be connected or unconnected. Further, the roll of material 90 maycomprise two rolls of material with one of the rolls of materialcomprising the first material 92 and the other roll of materialcomprising the second material 94. In this last-mentioned embodiment,the first material 92 is withdrawn from the first roll of material andthe second material 94 is withdrawn from the second roll of materialabout simultaneously so that the first and the second materials 92 and94 are provided in a manner as generally shown in FIG. 11 for severingfrom the first and second rolls of material to provide the first and thesecond sheets of material as described herein. The term "roll ofmaterial" as used herein is intended to encompass two or more rolls inthe manner generally described.

As shown in FIG. 11 the roll of material 90 is supported on a generallymounted shaft 106. The first and the second sheets of material 92 and 94are withdrawn from the roll of material 90 until a predetermined lengthof the first and the second materials 92 and 94 have been withdrawn fromthe roll of material 90. In this position, a portion of the first andthe second materials 92 and 94 are disposed under a knife edge 108. Theknife edge 108 is connected to an actuator 110 adapted to move the knifeedge 108 in a direction 112 and in a direction 114. When thepredetermined length of the first and the second materials 92 and 94have been withdrawn from the roll of material 90, the actuator 110actuates to move the knife edge 108 in the direction 112 to a positionwherein the knife edge 108 severingly engages the materials 92 and 94 toseveringly cut a portion of the first and the second materials 92 and 94from the roll of materials 90 to provide the first and the second sheetsof material as described herein. The actuator 110 may comprise ahydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a motor and gear arrangement or anyother form of arrangement suitable for moving the knife edge 108 in thedirections 112 and 114. After the knife edge 108 has cuttingly severedthe desired portion of the first and the second sheets of material 92and 94 from the roll of material 90, the actuator 110 is actuated tomove the knife edge 108 in the direction 114 to a storage positiondisposed a distance above the first and the second materials 92 and 94as opposed to the cutting position previously described.

Embodiment of FIG. 12

Shown in FIG. 12 is a pad 116 of first sheets of material designated bythe reference numerals 10f, 10g, and 10h in FIG. 12 and a plurality ofsecond sheets of material designated in FIG. 12 by the referencenumerals 26f, 26g and 26h. The first sheets of material 10f, 10g and 10hmay be constructed like the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed in detail before and the second sheets of material 26f, 26gand 26h may be constructed like the second sheet of material 26 shown inFIG. 2 and described in detail before, or like any of the other firstand the second sheets of material described herein. Each sheet comprisesa detaching means (not shown) as described herein. The first and thesecond sheets of material 10f, 10g, 10h, 26f, 26g and 26h are connectedin the form of a pad 116 with the closure bonding material 24f, 24g and24h cooperating to connect the first sheets of material 10f, 10g and 10hin the form of the pad 116. The second sheets of material 26f, 26g and26h may be connected to the respective first sheets of material 10f, 10gand 10h or may be interleaved between the adjacent first sheets ofmaterial 10f, 10g and 10h in the pad 116. In the alternative, the secondsheets of material 26f, 26g and 26h may be connected to form the pad 116with the first sheets of material 10f, 10g and 10h being interleaved inthe respective second sheets of material 26f, 26g and 26h and/orconnected thereto. In operation, the floral grouping may be placed onthe top sheet of material in the pad 116 and the first and the secondsheets of material comprising the top sheet of material may be wrappedabout the floral grouping and removed from the pad 116. In thealternative, one of the first sheets of material 10f, 10g or 10h alongwith the adjacent second sheet of material 26f, 26g or 26h may beremoved from the pad 116 and then wrapped about the floral grouping orflower pot.

Embodiments of FIGS. 13-18

As noted above, the present invention contemplates using the sheet ofmaterial 10 having a crimp connector comprising a cinching tab 18 towrap a floral grouping. A floral grouping 120 having a stem end 122 anda bloom end 124 (FIG. 13) is disposed on the upper surface 16 of thesheet of material 10. The sheet of material 10 then is wrapped about thefloral grouping 120 by taking the second side 15 of the sheet ofmaterial 10 and rolling the sheet of material 10 in a direction 126about the floral grouping 120 (FIG. 14) and wrapping the detaching means25 circumferentially about the floral grouping 124. The sheet ofmaterial 10 is continued to be rolled about the floral grouping 120until a portion of the sheet connector, i.e., the closure bondingmaterial 24, is disposed adjacent a portion of the lower surface 17 ofthe sheet of material 10 and brought into bonding contact or engagementtherewith (FIG. 15) thereby bondingly connecting the closure bondingmaterial 24 on the upper surface 16 of the sheet of material 10 to aportion of the lower surface 17 of the sheet of material 10 forcooperating to secure the first sheet of material 10 in a wrappedcondition about the floral grouping 120 to provide a wrapper 130 wrappedabout the floral grouping 120, as shown in FIG. 15.

Such a method of wrapping is shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat.No. 5,181,364, entitled, "Wrapping a Floral Grouping With Sheets HavingAdhesive Or Cohesive Material Applied Thereto," which issued Jan. 26,1993. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364 is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

In the wrapped condition with the sheet of material 10 wrapped about thefloral grouping 120 as shown in FIG. 15, the wrapper 130 forms a conicalshape with an open upper end 132 and an open lower end 134. The wrapper130 covers a portion of the bloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120. Aportion of the stem end 122 of the floral grouping 120 extends throughthe opened lower end 134 of the wrapper 130 The perforations 25 extendcircumferentially about the stem end 122 or about a portion of theflower end 124 of the floral grouping 120.

The wrapper 130 is caused to be more tightly wrapped about the floralgrouping 120 by grasping the cinching tab 18 and pulling the cinchingtab 18 in a direction 135 about the lower end of the wrapper 130. Oncethe tab 18 has been wrapped tightly about the lower end of the wrapper130, the portion of the tab 18 having the bonding material 21 appliedthereto is engagingly pressed against the wrapper 130 to affix the tab18 to the wrapper 130 thereby causing the lower end of the wrapper 130to be crimpingly wrapped about the stem end 122 of the floral grouping120 for inhibiting the floral grouping 120 from slipping or movingexcessively within the wrapper 130. If desired the upper portion of thewrapper 130 may be removed by detaching it at the perforations 25 by amethod well known in the art thus leaving the lower portion of thewrapper 130 crimped about a portion of the floral grouping 120.

The crimping may be conducted as the floral grouping 120 is wrapped (notshown), or the crimping may be conducted after the floral grouping iswrapped by crimping the sheet of material 10 in the area of the bondingmaterial 24. Such crimping may be conducted by hand, by grasping andsubstantially encompassing with one or more hands the lower end of thewrapper 130, in the area of the bonding material 24, and evenly andfirmly squeezing the sheet of material 10 about the area of the bondingmaterial 24, thereby pressing and gathering both the sheet of material10 against itself and against the stem end 122 of the floral grouping120 and the bonding material 24 against itself and against the stem end122 of the floral grouping 120. The wrapper 130 may also be crimped byusing both a crimping motion and a turning motion to create a twistedcrimping (not shown), resulting in a wrapper 130 which is both crimped,as described previously, and which is twisted about the stem end 122(the sheet of material 10 near the stem end 122 being rotated betweenabout one-eighth of a turn to about a full turn) primarily in the areanear the stem end 122 of the floral grouping 120. Such crimping asdescribed above may also be conducted by any instrument or machine usedfor gathering or crimping materials. The cinching tab 18 may be utilizedto both crimp the wrapper 130 in a crimped condition, as describedabove, that is, the cinching tab may perform the crimping, as well asretaining the wrapper 130 in a crimped condition.

At least a portion of the floral grouping 120 is disposed within thewrapper 130. In some applications, the stem end 122 of the floralgrouping 120 extends through the open lower end 134 of the wrapper 130,as described before. The bloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120 isdisposed near the open upper end 132 of the floral grouping 120 and thebloom end 124 of the floral grouping 120 is visible via the open upperend 132 of the wrapper 130. In some instances, the bloom end 124 of thefloral grouping 120 may extend beyond the open upper end 132 of thewrapper 130. In some applications, the upper end 132 of the wrapper 130may be closed if desired. In some applications, the lower end 134 of thewrapper 130 may be closed if desired.

The wrapper 130, formed from the sheet of material 10, as shown in FIGS.15 and 16, is generally conically shaped. The sheet of material 10 mayalso be wrapped about the floral grouping 120 to form a cylindricallyshaped wrapper 136 as shown in FIGS. 17-18 or any other shaped wrapperif desired in a particular application. When the sheet of material 10 iswrapped cylindrically about the floral grouping 120 as shown in FIG. 17,the cinching tab 18 is disposed about the wrapper 130 in exactly thesame way as the conically shaped wrapper 130 shown in FIG. 16 yet stillmaintaining a generally cylindric shape as shown in FIG. 18.

When the floral grouping 120 is wrapped using both a first sheet ofmaterial 10 and a second sheet material 26, the floral grouping 120 isdisposed on the upper surface 36 of the second sheet of material 26.First and second sheets of material which are placed similarly to theplacement shown in FIG. 3 are then wrapped about the floral grouping 120in substantially the same manner that a single first sheet of material10 is wrapped about the floral grouping 120 to arrive at a conically orcylindrically wrapped floral grouping as described above whereby aclosure bonding material 24 on the first sheet is brought into bondingcontact or engagement therewith thereby bondingly connecting the closurebonding material 24 on the upper surface 16 of the first sheet onmaterial 10 to a position of the lower surface 17 of the first sheet ofmaterial 10.

When used in the context of wrapping a floral grouping, the second sheetof material 26 is preferably constructed of a relatively rigid, flexiblesheet of material capable of being wrapped about the floral grouping 120whereby the second sheet of material 26 cooperates to add rigidity tothe first and the second sheets of material 10 and 26 for cooperating tosupport the first and the second sheets of material 10 and 26 wrappedabout the floral grouping 120 in the form of the wrapper 130. Also, thesecond sheet of material 26 preferably is constructed of an insulationtype of material for providing insulation when the first and the secondsheets of material 10 and 26 are wrapped about the floral grouping 120to form the wrapper 130. The second sheet of material 26 also preferablyis capable of absorbing water so that, when the first and the secondsheets of material 10 and 26 are wrapped about the floral grouping 120to form the wrapper 130, the second sheet of material 26 is disposedadjacent the floral grouping 120 and absorbs water from the floralgrouping 120.

In addition, the second sheet of material 26 may be disposed on theouter surface of the wrapper 130, rather than the inner surface of thewrapper 130 adjacent the floral grouping 120, if desired in a particularapplication.

The term "bonding material" when used herein means an adhesive,preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where thebonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must beplaced on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondinglyengaging with the cohesive material. The term "bonding material" alsoincludes materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, theadjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact and thenheat must be applied to effect the seal. The term "bonding material"also includes materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable.The term "bonding material" when used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer which may be applied to the sheet of material and, in thisinstance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be applied toeffect the sealing.

The term "bonding material" when used herein also means any type ofmaterial or thing which can be used to effect the bonding or connectingof the two adjacent portions of the material or sheet of material toeffect the connection or bonding described herein. The term "bondingmaterial" also includes ties, labels, bands, ribbons, strings, tape,staples or combinations thereof. Some of the bonding materials wouldsecure the ends of the material while other bonding material may bindthe circumference of the wrapper. Another way to secure the wrapping isto heat seal the ends of the material to another portion of thematerial. One way to do this is to contact the ends with an iron ofsufficient heat to heat seal the material.

The term "bonding material" when used herein also means any heat orchemically shrinkable material, and static electrical or otherelectrical means, magnetic means, mechanical or barb-type fasteningmeans or clamps, curl-type characteristics of the film or materialsincorporated in the sheet of material which can cause the material totake on certain shapes, and any type of welding method which may weldportions of the sheet to itself or to the pot, or to both the sheetitself and the pot.

"Cling Wrap or Material" when used herein means any material which iscapable of connecting to the sheet of material and/or itself uponcontacting engagement during the wrapping process and is wrappable aboutan item whereby portions of the cling material contactingly engage andconnect to other portions of the wrapping material for generallysecuring the sheet of material wrapped about at least a portion of theitem. This connecting engagement is preferably temporary in that thewrapping material may be easily removed without tearing same, i.e., thecling material "clings" to the wrapping material. A wrapping materialwhich remains securely connected to and about the wrapped item until thewrapping material is torn therefrom.

The cling material is constructed and treated if necessary, frompolyethylene such as Cling Wrap made by Glad®, First Brands Corporation,Danbury, Conn. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the thickness of the sheet of material utilized, i.e., generally,the thicker and therefore heavier sheet of material may require athicker and therefore stronger cling material. The cling material willrange in thickness from less than about 0.2 mils to about 10 mils, andpreferably less than about 0.5 mils to about 2.5 mils and mostpreferably from less than about 0.6 mils to about 2 mils. However, anythickness of cling material may be utilized in accordance with thepresent invention which permits the cling material to function asdescribed herein. It will be appreciated that the cinching tab 18, thesheet of material 10, or any portion of either, may comprise clingmaterial.

The term "botanical item" when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term"botanical item" also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term "propagule" when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stemsroots or spoubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

The term "growing medium" when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term "band" when used herein means any material which may be securedabout an object such as a flower pot, such bands commonly being referredto as elastic bands, rubber bands or nonelastic bands and also includesany other type of material such as an elastic or non-elastic string orelastic piece of material, non-elastic piece of material, a round pieceof material, a flat piece of material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip,a piece of plastic strip, a piece of wire, a tie wrap or a twist tie orcombinations thereof or any other device capable of gathering the sheetof material to removably or substantially permanently form a crimpedportion and secure the crimped portion formed in the sheet of materialwhich may be secured about an object such as the flower pot. The bandalso may include a bow if desired in a particular application. Such aband may be included as a part of the cinching tab 18 or may comprisethe cinching tab 18, however, the cinching tab 18 may not comprise aband, and the cinching tab 18 may be used without a band attachedthereto as well.

The sheet of material used herein may further comprise at least onescent (not shown). Examples of scents utilized herein include (but arenot limited to) floral scents (flower blossoms, or any portion of aplant), food scents (chocolate, sugar, fruits), herb or spice scents(cinnamon), and the like. Additional examples of scents include flowers(such as roses, daisies, lilacs), plants (such as fruits, vegetables,grasses, trees), foods (for example, candies, cookies, cake), foodcondiments (such as honey, sugar, salt), herbs, spices, woods, roots,and the like, or any combination of the foregoing. Such scents are knownin the art, and are commercially available.

The scent may be disposed upon the sheet of material 10 by spraying thescent thereupon, painting the scent thereupon, brushing the scentthereupon, lacquering the scent thereupon, immersing the sheet ofmaterial in a scent-containing liquid, exposing the sheet of material toscent-containing gas, or any combination thereof.

The scent may be contained within a lacquer, or other liquid, before itis disposed upon the sheet of material 10. The scent may also becontained within a dye, ink, and/or pigment (not shown). Such dyes, inksand pigments are known in the art, and are commercially available, andmay be disposed upon or incorporated in the sheet of material 10 by anymethod described herein or known in the art.

Embodiments of FIGS. 19A-20B

Shown in FIG. 19A and designated by the reference numeral 10i is a sheetof material having a first end 12i and a second end 13i, a first side14i and a second side 15i and having an upper surface 16i and a lowersurface 17i. Sheet 10i is exactly the same as sheet 10 described abovein FIG. 1 except that the crimp connector is not a cinching tab but isinstead a strip of bonding material disposed upon one of the surfaces ofthe sheet 10i. Disposed upon the upper side 16i of the sheet 10i is awrapper connector comprising a strip of bonding material designated bythe numeral 24i which covers a portion of the upper surface of the sheetof material and may be similar to the bonding material 24 of sheet 10.The sheet 10i further comprises a detaching means 25i as described abovefor perforations 25. Additionally, as indicated in FIG. 19A a crimpconnector comprising a second strip of bonding material 140i is disposedon the upper surface 16i of the sheet 10i. Shown in FIG. 20A and 20B isa sheet of material exactly the same as sheet 10i of FIG. 19A exceptthat the crimp connector is a bonding material 140j disposed on aportion of the lower is surface 17j of the sheet of material 10j.

Embodiments of FIGS. 21-26

Shown in FIG. 21 is a sheet of material 10i exactly the same as thesheet of material 10i shown in FIG. 19A. Disposed upon the upper surface16i of the sheet of material 10i is a floral grouping 120 having a stemend 122 and a bloom end 124. One method of wrapping the sheet ofmaterial 10i about the floral grouping 120 is to draw the sheet 10i atside 15i in the direction 126 over the floral grouping 120 therebycausing the lower surface 17i of the sheet to become the externallyoriented surface of the wrapper. The sheet of material 10i is wrappedabout the floral grouping thus forming a wrapper 130i in exactly thesame way as is disclosed above in FIGS. 13-18.

Shown in FIG. 23 is a wrapper 130i having a conical shape and possessingthe additional strip of bonding material 140i. The bonding material 140iis disposed on the inner surface 16i of the wrapper 130i facing thestems 122 of the floral grouping 120.

In operation, the portion of the wrapper 130i in the vicinity of thestrip of bonding material 140i is tightly grasped and crimped about thestems 122 of the floral grouping 120 thereby causing overlapping foldsin the portion of the wrapper 130i adjacent the stems 122 to bebondingly connected thereby causing the portion of the wrapper 130i tobe bound about the stems 122 thereby forming a connected portion 142i.

Shown in FIG. 25 is the same sheet of material 10i which has beenwrapped in a cylindrical fashion about the floral grouping 120 therebyforming a cylindrically shaped wrapper 136i about the floral groupingsubstantially as shown above in FIG. 17. Bonding material 140i isdisposed on the inner surface 16i of the wrapper 136i and surrounds aportion of the stem portion 122 of the floral grouping 120. The wrapper136i is grasped and crimped in the vicinity of the bonding material 140ithereby causing the wrapper to overlap each other and be bonded togetherabout the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 thereby binding thewrapper 136i about the stems 122 thereby forming a connected area 142iabout the stems 122.

Embodiments of FIGS. 27-32

Shown in FIG. 27 is the sheet of material 10j as shown in FIG. 20A hereshown with the crimp connector, i.e., the bonding material 140j,disposed upon the surface 17j of the sheet 10j. The sheet of material10j can be wrapped about the floral grouping 120 exactly the same asshown in FIGS. 21-26 to form a conically shaped wrapper 130j as shown inFIG. 29 or a cylindrically shaped wrapper 136j shown in FIG. 31.

As shown in FIG. 30, the wrapper 130j is grasped in proximity to thebonding material 140j and is crimped about the stems 122 of the floralgrouping 120 thereby causing portions of the wrapper 130j to overlap andengage with one another forming a connected crimped portion 142j of thewrapper 130j about the floral grouping 120. Similarly to that shown inFIG. 32, the wrapper 136j and the bonding material 140j is crimped aboutthe stems 122 thereby forming a connected area 142j of the wrapper 136jabout the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 disposed within thewrapper 136j.

Embodiments of FIGS. 33-37

Shown in FIG. 33 is a wrapper generally designated by the numeral 148.The wrapper 148 is of a type of wrapper referred to in the floralindustry as "sleeves". The wrapper 148 in one version as embodied hereinis comprised of a first surface or sheet of material 150 having a firstupper end 152, a first lower end 154, a first left-hand side 156, afirst right-hand side 158, a first inner surface 160 and a first outersurface 162. The wrapper 148 further comprises a second surface or sheet164 which has a second upper end 166, a second lower end 168, a secondleft-hand side 170, a second right-hand side 172, a second inner surface174 and a second outer surface 176. The second sheet 164 is disposedupon the first sheet 150 whereby the first inner surface 160 is disposedadjacent the second inner surface 174. The first sheet 150 and thesecond sheet 164 may be of equal lengths. Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 33, one sheet may be longer than the other sheet, such as firstsheet 150 being slightly longer than second sheet 164. The firstleft-hand side 156 of the first sheet 150 rests upon and adjacent thesecond left-hand side 170 of the second sheet 164. Similarly, the firstright-hand side 158 of the first sheet 150 lies adjacent and upon thesecond right-hand side 172 of the second sheet 164. The first left-handside 156 of sheet 150 is sealed to the second left-hand side 170 of thesecond sheet 164 forming a left-hand seal 178. The first right-hand side158 of the first sheet 150 is sealed to the second right-hand side 172of the second sheet 164 thereby forming a right-hand seal 180. The firstsheet 150 and the second sheet 164 when sealed at seals 178 and 180 forma wrapper 148 having an open upper end 182 and an open lower end 184.The left-hand seal 178 and the right-hand seal 180 may be formed by anymethod to form a wrapper consistent with the use of present invention.Wrappers known as sleeves are well known by those of ordinary skill inthe art and are commercially available and have been used for many yearsin the floral industry.

The wrapper 148 may similarly be composed of a single sheet of material(not shown) which has been folded over to form two surfaces and issealed on abutting sides of each surface thereby forming a sleevesimilar in appearance to the sleeve in FIG. 33 which has an open upperend and an open lower end. Similarly, a sleeve such as wrapper 148 maybe formed and sealed at the lower end thereby forming a sleeve orwrapper which has only an open upper end. The left-hand seal 178 and theright-hand seal 180 may be formed by adhesive methods, by heat-sealingmethods, by sonic-sealing methods or vibratory-sealing methods or anyappropriate method for forming a seal between two sheets. The wrapper148 further comprises a crimp connector 188 disposed on a portion of thewrapper 148. The connector 188 as shown in FIG. 33 is comprised of abonding material and release strip disposed upon a portion of the secondsheet of material 164 near the second righthand side 172 of the secondsheet 164. The crimp connector has a double-sided adhesive 190 as shownin FIG. 34. One side of the double-sided adhesive 190 is adhesivelydisposed against the second sheet 164 and the other side of thedouble-sided adhesive 190 is covered by a release strip or tape 191which when removed exposes the adhesive 190.

The wrapper 148 further comprises at least a first detaching means suchas a first plurality of perforations 192a in first sheet 150 forenabling the detachment of an upper portion of the wrapper 148 forexposing a portion of the floral grouping 120. The wrapper 148 mayfurther comprise a second detaching means, such as a second plurality ofperforations 192b in the second sheet 164 for enabling the detachment ofan upper portion of the wrapper 148. If both perforations 192a and 192bare employed, the entire upper portion of the wrapper 148, comprisingthe upper portions of both sheets 150 and 164 can be removed, revealinga portion of the floral grouping 120. A third detaching means comprisinga third plurality of perforations 192c and a fourth detaching meanscomprising a fourth plurality of perforations 192d may be disposed inthe wrapper 148, as indicated in FIG. 35. The perforations 192c and 192dfacilitate the use of only either the perforations 192a or 192b if onlythe upper portion of sheet 150 is desired to be removed, or if only theupper portion of sheet 164 is desired to be removed, respectively. Forexample, it may be desired to remove only the upper portion of the sheet150, thereby exposing the floral grouping 120 to view while maintainingthe background provided by the intact second sheet 164 for providing anenhanced decorative or dramatic effect.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 35 the wrapper 148 is opened to exposethe interior space 193 between the inner surface 160 of the first sheet150 and the inner surface 174 of the second sheet 164. A floral grouping120 exactly the same as floral grouping 120 described above is disposedwithin the interior space 193 of the wrapper 148 such that the stems 122are oriented near the lower end 184 of the wrapper 148 and the upper end124 of the floral grouping 120 is disposed near the upper end 182 of thewrapper 148. The release tape 191 is removed from the crimp connector188 prior to the crimping of the wrapper about a portion of the floralgrouping.

As shown in FIG. 36, a first overlapping portion 194 of the wrapper 148is drawn in direction 196 and a second overlapping portion 198 of thewrapper 148 is drawn in the direction 200 whereby the double-sidedadhesive strip 190 is contacted to the first overlapping portion 194.The adhesive portion 190 is cinched tightly about the wrapper 148 andthe portion of the wrapper 148 disposed thereabout is crimped tightlyabout the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 thereby formingoverlapping portions of the wrapper 148 about the stems 122 of thefloral grouping 120 to form a connected area 202 thereby causing thewrapper 148 to be held crimpingly and firmly about the stems 122. Thecrimp connector 188 may be formed from a bonding material other than anadhesive, such as the bonding materials described herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 38-41

Shown in FIG. 38 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148a. The wrapper 148a is exactly the same as the wrapper 148shown in FIGS. 33 and 35 except that the wrapper 148a rather than havingan adhesive strip with a release strip has a crimp connector comprisinga cinching tab 206a which is exactly the same as cinching tab 18 in FIG.1 except that the cinching tab 206a is attached to either the firstsheet or surface 150a or the second sheet or surface 164a of the wrapper148a. The cinching tab 206a has a first end 208a, a second end 210a anda bonding material portion 212a. Shown in FIG. 39 the cinching tab 206ais an extension of the first sheet of material 150a. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art, that the cinching tab206a could also be comprised of an extension of the second sheet 164a.Alternatively, the cinching tab 206a may be a separate piece of materialwhich is affixed to either the first sheet 150a or the second sheet164a.

As shown in FIGS. 40 and 41 the cinching tab 206a is utilized in exactlythe same manner as the cinching tab 18a is used in FIGS. 16 and 18 tocinch a sheet of material to form a conically shaped wrapper about afloral grouping. Once the cinching tab 206a is made to cinch the wrappertightly about the stem portion 122, a connected area 214a is formed fromoverlapped portions of the wrapper which are engaged with each otherabout the stems 122 thereby tightly and crimpingly connecting thewrapper 148a in an orientation about the stem portion 122.

Embodiments of FIGS. 42-45

Shown in FIG. 42 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148b. The wrapper 148b is exactly the same as the wrapper 148 inFIGS. 33 and 35 except that the wrapper 148b has an internally disposedcrimp connector comprising a bonding material 216b rather than a bondingstrip externally located. The internal bonding material 216b iscomprised of a first inner layer 218b of bonding material and a secondinner layer 220b of bonding material. The first inner layer 218b ofbonding material is disposed upon a portion of the inner surface 160b ofthe first sheet of material 150b. The second inner layer 220b of bondingmaterial is disposed upon a portion of the inner layer 174b of thesecond sheet of material 164b.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45 a floral grouping 120 isdisposed within the interior space 193b of the wrapper 148bsubstantially as described above. The wrapper 148b is then grasped andcrimped in the vicinity of the internal closure bonding material 216bforcing portions of the wrapper 148b into overlapping folds in thevicinity of the internal closure bonding material 216b thereby causingoverlapped portions of the inner surfaces of the wrapper 148b tocrimpingly bond to each other and forming a crimped area 222b in thewrapper 148b in the vicinity about the stems 122 of the floral grouping120.

Embodiments of FIGS. 46-49

Shown in FIG. 46 is a wrapper 148c which is exactly the same as thewrapper shown in FIG. 39 and the wrapper shown in FIG. 42 except thatthe crimp connector of wrapper 148c comprises both a cinching tab 206csimilar to the cinching tab 206a of FIG. 39 and an internally disposedbonding material 216c which is exactly the same as the internallydisposed bonding material 216b shown in FIG. 42. In the version of thepresent invention shown in FIG. 46, both the cinching tab 206c and theinternally disposed bonding material 216c participate in the effectivecrimping and bonding of the wrapper 148c about the stems 122 of thefloral grouping 120 to form a crimped area 222c in the wrapper 148cwhich functions to hold the wrapper 148c firmly against the stems 122 ofthe floral grouping 120.

In a preferred version of the method of the present invention, theinternal bonding material 216c and the portion of the wrapper 148cproximate thereto is crimped about the stem portion 122 of the floralgrouping 120 thereby causing the wrapper 148c to be crimpingly held inan orientation about the floral grouping 120. Next, the cinching tab206c is wrapped about the crimped portion of the wrapper 148c to furtherbind the wrapper 148c close to the stem portion 122 of the floralgrouping 120.

Embodiments of FIGS. 50-53

Shown in FIG. 50 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148d. The wrapper 148d is exactly the same as the wrapper 148bshown in FIG. 42 except that the bonding material is an externallydisposed bonding material 226d which is disposed about a portion of theouter surface of the sheet 150d and a portion of the outer surface ofthe sheet 164d. The external bonding material is comprised of a layer228d disposed on a portion of the first sheet 150d and a second layer230d disposed on a portion of the second sheet 164d.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 52 and 53 the wrapper 148d can betightly crimped about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 by firmlygrasping and crimping the externally disposed bonding material 226dabout the stems 122 thereby crimping a portion of the wrapper 148d intoa crimped area 232d about the stems 122. The wrapper 148d, when crimpedabout the stems 122 as shown in FIG. 53, appears substantially similarto the crimped portion of the sheet of material 136j as shown in FIG.32.

Embodiments of FIGS. 54-57

Shown in FIG. 54 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148e. The wrapper 148e is exactly the same as the wrapper 148cshown in FIG. 46 except that the bonding material used for crimpinglyforming the wrapper about the floral grouping 120 is an externallydisposed bonding material 226e exactly the same as shown in FIG. 50rather than an internally disposed bonding material as shown in FIG. 46.The external bonding material operates in exactly the same way as theexternal bonding material 226d in FIGS. 51-53. Additionally however, thecinching tab 206e functions to cause the wrapper 148e to be held moretightly about the stems 122 of the floral grouping 120 to form a crimpedarea 234e of the wrapper 148e about the stems 122 as shown in FIG. 57.The method of first crimping the externally disposed bonding material226e, then wrapping the crimped portion with the cinching tab 206e issubstantially similar to the method described for the embodiment ofFIGS. 46-49, and described in more detail above.

Embodiment of FIG. 58

Shown in FIG. 58 is a wrapper designated by the general referencenumeral 148f. The wrapper 148f is exactly the same as the wrapper 148ashown in FIG. 38 and functions in exactly the same manner except thatthe wrapper 148f additionally has an upper closure flap 240f and a lowerclosure flap 242f. The upper closure flap 240f further has an upperclosure bonding strip 244f and when the upper closure flap 240f isfolded in a direction 246f against the upper surface of the wrapper148f, the upper end of the wrapper 148f is thereby closed. The lowerclosure flap has a lower closure bonding strip 248f and when the lowerclosure bonding flap is folded in a direction 250f against the wrapper148f the lower end of the wrapper 148f is thereby closed. In thismanner, the wrapper can be completely closed about a floral grouping 120disposed within the interior space thereof. It will also be understoodby one of ordinary skill in the art that any of the sheets of materialor sleeves or other wrappers described herein could be modified by theaddition of an upper closure flap or a lower closure flap.

It will also be noted that any of the strips of bonding materialdescribed herein may be protected by a release strip which can beremoved to expose the bonding material thereunder.

Embodiment of FIGS. 59-62

Shown in FIG. 59 is a sheet of material designated by the generalreference numeral 10k and which is exactly the same as sheet 10 exceptfor the differences noted herein. The sheet of material 10k has an uppersurface 16k and a lower surface 17k and sheet connector comprising astrip of material 24k comprising a closure bonding material and furthercomprises a detaching means such as a plurality of perforations 25k asdescribed elsewhere herein. The strip of closure bonding material 24k isdisposed upon the surface 16k of the sheet 10k. The sheet 10k furthercomprises a label connector which is a second strip 254k of bondingmaterial disposed on a portion of the surface 17k of the sheet ofmaterial 10k as shown in FIGS. 59-62. The label connector 254k serves tobond a card or label 256k shown by way of example in FIG. 62. The cardor label 256k can be attached to the bonding material 254k for thepurposes of providing information to the purchaser or user of the floralgrouping disposed within the wrapper 130k or 136k. The card or label256k may have printed thereon various floral indicia 258k. The floralindicia 258k may comprise a greeting such as "Happy Birthday" and mayalso provide a space indicating the identity of the sender. The floralindicia also typically includes a space for writing in the identity ofthe recipient of the floral grouping. Any other greeting such as "MerryChristmas" or "Happy Easter" or any other form of greeting may beincluded on the front surface of the card or label 256k. Also, thefloral indicia 258k may be in the form of care instructions relating tothe particular floral grouping. The care instructions could includeinstructions as to the sunlight required by the particular plant, thewatering instructions for the particular plant or floral grouping, orany other instructions or information relating to the care of theparticular plant associated with the card or label 256k. The floralindicia 258k could also comprise a UPC code.

As shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, the sheet of material 10k can be wrappedabout the floral grouping 120 to form a conical wrapper 130k or acylindrical wrapper 136k for the purpose of wrapping the floralgrouping. The label connector 254k is exposed on the surface 17k oncethe sheet of material 10k has been wrapped about the floral grouping120. As shown in FIGS. 59-62, the sheet 10k does not have a closure tabsuch as closure tab 18 of sheet 10. Alternately, a label connector 254kcould be disposed upon the inner surface 16k of the sheet for affixing alabel 256k within the wrapper. The perforations 25k are shown as beinglocated to the left of the label connector 254k in FIG. 59, but it willbe understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the perforations25k could also be located to the right of the label connector or 254kwherein when the upper portion of the wrapper 10k was removed, the labelattached to the label connector 254k would also be removed therewith.

Embodiments of FIGS. 63-66

Shown in FIG. 63 and designated by the general reference numeral 10m isa sheet of material exactly the same as the sheet of material 10k(comprising a plurality of perforations 25m) except that the sheet ofmaterial 10m further comprises a tab 18m exactly as described previouslyfor sheet 10 described in FIG. 1. Sheet 10m therefore comprises aclosure tab 18m and a bonding strip 254m located on surface 17m forbonding to a card or label as described in FIGS. 61 and 62 anddesignated therein as card 256k containing floral indicia 258k. Thesheet 10m is wrapped about the floral grouping 120 exactly the same asshown in FIGS. 13-18 with the exception that for the wrappers 130m and136m shown in FIGS. 65 and 66, the bonding strip 254m is disposed on theoutside of the wrapper 130m or 136m for the purpose of bonding a card orlabel such as was discussed above. The perforations 25m may be locatedin any functionally useful arrangement on the sheet 10m as will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Embodiments of FIGS. 67-70

Shown in FIG. 67 and designated by the general reference numeral 148g isa wrapper exactly the same as wrapper 148b described in FIG. 42 exceptthat the crimp connector, or bonding material, disposed on the innersurfaces 160g and 174g of the sleeve 148b and designated by thereference numeral 216g does not extend completely from one side of thewrapper to the other side as shown in FIG. 42 for wrapper 148b. Thewrapper 148g comprises instead a bonding material 216g which is disposedon continuous portions of the inner surfaces 160g and 174g of the sleeve148g except for a gap 260g which interrupts the strip of bondingmaterial 216g from extending entirely across the inner surfaces 160g and174g of the wrapper 148g. This embodiment is represented in FIGS. 67 and68. A strip of bonding material 218g is disposed upon a portion of theinner surface 160g of the sheet 150g and a strip of bonding material220g is disposed upon a portion of the inner surface 174g of the sheet164g of the wrapper 148g.

In operation, the stem portion of a floral grouping can be extendedthrough the gap 260g of the wrapper 148g for enclosing the floralgrouping 120.

Shown in FIG. 69 and designated by the general reference numeral 148h isa wrapper exactly the same as wrapper 148c shown in FIG. 46 except thatthe wrapper 148h has a crimp connector comprising a bonding material216h disposed upon the inner surfaces 160h and 174h of the wrapper 148hexactly the same as the strip of bonding material 216g is disposed uponthe inner surfaces 160g and 174g of the wrapper 148g as shown in FIG.67. That is, the strip of material 216h does not extend entirely acrossthe inner surfaces of the wrapper 148h from one side to the other but isinterrupted by a gap 260h in the bonding material. The stems 122 of afloral grouping 120 can be extended through the gap 260h for increasingthe ease of inserting the floral grouping 120 into the wrapper 148h. Thewrappers 148g and 148h can then be wrapped about a floral groupingexactly as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, and FIGS. 48 and 49, respectively.

Embodiments of FIGS. 71-74

Shown in FIG. 71 and designated by the general reference numeral 10n isa side view of a sheet of material constructed exactly the same as thesheet of material 10i shown in FIG. 19A except that the sheet ofmaterial 10n comprises a crimp connector further comprising two stripsof bonding material, one on each of the upper surface 16n and the lowersurface 17n of the sheet of material 10n. The first strip of bondingmaterial, on the upper surface 16n, is designated by the generalreference numeral 262n and the second strip of bonding material, on thelower surface 17n of the sheet 10n is designated by the generalreference numeral 264n. The composition of the bonding material 262n maybe the same or different from the composition of the bonding material264n.

Shown in FIG. 72 and designated by the general reference numeral 10p isanother sheet of material having a first strip of bonding material 262pon the upper surface 16p and a second strip of bonding material 264pshown on the lower surface 17p of the sheet of material 10p. The sheetof material 10p is exactly the same as sheet of material 10n except thatthe strips of bonding material 262p and 264p are offset from each otheron opposite surfaces of the sheet as demonstrated in FIG. 72. The stripsmay be fully offset or partially offset from each other.

Shown in FIG. 73 and designated by the general reference numeral 10q isa sheet of material having an upper surface 16q and a lower surface 17qand having a first strip of bonding material 262q on the upper surface16q and a pair of strips of bonding material 264q and 266q disposed onthe lower surface 17q of the sheet 10q and in the same general vicinityas, but opposite to, the strip of material 262q. The strips 262q, 264qand 266q may be slightly offset or wholly offset or arranged in anynumber of orientations with regard to each other in accordance with thepresent invention as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart.

Shown in FIG. 74 is a sheet of material 10r having two strips of bondingmaterial on the upper surface 16r and a single strip of bonding materialon the lower surface 17r. The first strip of bonding material 262r is onthe upper surface 16r generally near the end 13r of the sheet and thesecond strip of bonding material 264r is on the lower surface of 17r ofthe sheet of material 10r and the third strip of bonding material 268ris on the same surface of the sheet of material 10r as the strip ofbonding material 262r. As noted above the composition of the strips ofbonding material can be identical or different to each other and can bearranged in any one of a variety of orientations with regard to eachother.

The sheets of material 10n-10r can be used in exactly the same way asthe sheet of material 10i as shown in FIGS. 22-26 for forming a wrapperabout a floral grouping wherein the bonding strips 262n-268r are crimpedtogether to form crimped overlapping portions of the wrapper whichengage each other about the stems of the floral grouping thereby holdingthe wrapper in close proximity to the floral grouping 120. Moreover,each sheet 10n-10r comprises a detaching means such as that describedfor sheet 10i for detaching a portion of the wrapper as describedelsewhere herein.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that in theprocess of wrapping any of the wrappers or sheets of material disclosedherein about a floral grouping or plant that the purpose of the bondingmaterial is to cause overlapping portions of the wrapper or sheet ofmaterial forming the wrapper to adhere to other adjacent overlappingportions of the wrapper or sheet thereby causing the wrapper or sheet ofmaterial to be held generally and firmly about the stems of the floralgrouping. It will also be understood by one of ordinary skill in the artthat the bonding material may partially bond or not bond at all to thestem portion of the floral grouping as the wrapper or sheet of materialis crimped about the stems of the floral grouping to bind the wrapperabout the floral grouping.

When a sheet of material such as one of the sheets 10n-10r are crimpedabout a floral grouping as described above, the overlapping portions ofthe inner surface of the sheet crimpingly engage other overlappingportions of the inner surface. Similarly, the overlapping portions ofthe outer surface of the sheet crimpingly engage other overlappingportions of the outer surface.

Also, envisioned within the context of the present invention arewrappers (sleeves) which have strips of crimping bonding material bothon the inner surfaces of the first and second surfaces of the wrapperand on the outer surfaces of the first and second surfaces of thewrapper. Each of the sheets of material or wrappers having such dualbonding strips as described herein may also have a cinching tab asdescribed above.

Also, envisioned are sheets of material having detaching means disposedelsewhere on the sheets of material or sleeves for enabling other modesof detachment of portions of the sheets of material or sleeves to exposevarious portions of the floral groupings contained therein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 75-80

Shown in FIGS. 75 and 76 and represented by the general referencenumeral 130 are wrappers exactly like the wrapper 130 shown in FIG. 16except that a portion of the wrapper has been detached via the detachingmeans. In FIG. 75 a portion of the upper portion of the wrapper 130 hasbeen detached leaving the floral grouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG.76 an entire upper portion of the wrapper 130 has been detached leavingthe upper portion of the floral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

Shown in FIGS. 77 and 78 and represented by the general referencenumeral 130i are wrappers exactly like the wrapper 130 shown in FIG. 24except that a portion of the wrapper has been detached via the detachingmeans. In FIG. 77 a portion of the upper portion of the wrapper 130i hasbeen detached leaving the floral grouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG.78 an entire upper portion of the wrapper 130i has been detached leavingthe upper portion of the floral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

Shown in FIGS. 79 and 80 and represented by the general referencenumeral 148b are wrappers exactly like the wrapper 148b in FIG. 44except that a portion of the wrapper has been detached via the detachingmeans. In FIG. 79 a portion of the upper portion of the wrapper 148b hasbeen detached leaving the floral grouping 120 partially exposed. In FIG.80 an entire upper portion of the wrapper 148b has been detached leavingthe upper portion of the floral grouping 120 entirely exposed.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the otherversions of the present invention as embodied in the other figuresdisclosed herein may also possess portions which can be detached toexpose various portions of the floral groupings contained therein.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wrapping a floral grouping,comprising:providing a floral grouping having an upper end and a stemportion; providing a sheet of material having:a crimp connecting meanscomprising an adhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed directlyupon a portion of at least one of an upper surface and a lower surfaceof the sheet, the crimp connecting means for holding overlappingportions of the sheet of material in a crimped position adjacent thestem portion of the floral grouping, and detaching means for detaching aportion of the sheet of material after the sheet of material has beenwrapped about the floral grouping; placing the floral grouping on theupper surface of the sheet of material; wrapping the sheet of materialabout the floral grouping causing portions of the sheet of material tooverlap other portions of the sheet of material with the sheet ofmaterial substantially encompassing and surrounding a substantialportion of the stem portion of the floral grouping forming a wrapperabout the floral grouping and wherein the detaching means is disposed ina position adjacent a portion of the floral grouping; and forming acrimped portion in the wrapper by crimping together portions of thewrapper, with the crimp connecting means causing portions of the wrapperto overlap and connect other portions of the wrapper, the crimpconnecting means engaging the overlapping portions of the wrappertogether in a position surrounding and adjacent the stem portion of thefloral grouping thereby binding the wrapper about the floral grouping.2. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of providing the sheet ofmaterial the sheet of material is constructed from a material selectedfrom the group of materials consisting of paper, cellophane, foil,polymer film, fabric, or burlap or combinations thereof.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein in the step of providing the sheet of material eachsheet of material has a thickness in a range from less than about 1 milto about 30 mils.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step ofproviding the sheet, the crimp connecting means further comprises astrip of an adhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed upon aportion of the upper surface of the sheet of material.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein in the step of providing the sheet the crimp connectingmeans further comprises a strip of an adhesive or cohesive bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the lower surface of the sheet ofmaterial.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of providing thesheet of material the crimp connecting means further comprises theadhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed upon portions of both theupper and lower surfaces of the sheet of material.
 7. A method forwrapping a floral grouping, comprising:providing a floral groupinghaving an upper end and a stem portion; providing a sheet of materialhaving:a crimp connecting means comprising an adhesive or cohesivebonding material disposed directly upon a portion of at least one of anupper surface and a lower surface of the sheet, the crimp connectingmeans for holding overlapping portions of the sheet of material in acrimped position adjacent the stem portion of the floral grouping;placing the floral grouping on the upper surface of the sheet ofmaterial; wrapping the sheet of material about the floral groupingcausing portions of the sheet of material to overlap other portions ofthe sheet of material with the sheet of material substantiallyencompassing and surrounding a substantial portion of the stem portionof the floral grouping forming a wrapper about the floral grouping; andforming a crimped portion in the wrapper by crimping together portionsof the wrapper with the crimp connecting means causing portions of thewrapper to overlap and connect other portions of the wrapper, the crimpconnecting means engaging the overlapping portions of the wrappertogether in a position surrounding and adjacent the stem portion of thefloral grouping thereby binding the wrapper about the floral grouping.8. The method of claim 7 wherein in the step of providing the sheet ofmaterial the sheet of material is constructed from a material selectedfrom the group of materials consisting of paper, cellophane, foil,polymer film, fabric, or burlap or combinations thereof.
 9. The methodof claim 7 wherein in the step of providing the sheet of material eachsheet of material has a thickness in a range from less than about 1 milto about 30 mils.
 10. The method of claim 7 wherein in the step ofproviding the sheet, the crimp connecting means further comprises astrip of an adhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed upon aportion of the upper surface of the sheet of material.
 11. The method ofclaim 7 wherein in the step of providing the sheet the crimp connectingmeans further comprises a strip of an adhesive or cohesive bondingmaterial disposed upon a portion of the lower surface of the sheet ofmaterial.
 12. The method of claim 7 wherein in the step of providing thesheet of material the crimp connecting means further comprises theadhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed upon portions of both theupper and lower surfaces of the sheet of material.